معرفی
Jurij Toplak is a Full Professor of Law at the University of Maribor, where he chairs the Department of Constitutional, Administrative, and Financial Law. He has served as Head of the Public Law Department (2016-2022) and as Executive Vice-President/Provost of Alma Mater Europaea (2016-2022). Since 2019, he has been a recurring visiting professor at Fordham Law School in New York. Professor Toplak is a member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts and has built a distinguished career in constitutional and election law.
His research focuses on constitutional law, elections, government, campaign finance, international organizations, and human rights. Professor Toplak is recognized as one of Europe's leading election law authorities, with significant contributions to understanding electoral systems, political finance, and corruption in transitional democracies. His scholarly work spans multiple continents and has influenced election observation practices worldwide.
Professor Toplak's publication portfolio includes the influential 2022 Routledge Handbook of Election Law (co-edited with David Schultz), which represents the most thorough comparative study of election law across six continents, and the 2008 volume Political Finance and Corruption in Eastern Europe (co-edited with Daniel Smilov). His recent articles examine topics ranging from preferential voting systems to money in Maltese elections and social behavioral effects on ecological footprints.
- Young Lawyer of the Year award from Slovenian Lawyers' Association (2000)
- Lawyer of the Year title from Slovenian Lawyers' Association (2022)
- Member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts
- Co-editor of the landmark Routledge Handbook of Election Law (2022)
Professor Toplak has advised governments worldwide and international organizations including the Council of Europe, OSCE, ODIHR, European Union and UNDP. He has served on election observation and expert missions in Finland, Canada, Latvia, France, Malta, Monaco, the US, Serbia, Montenegro, and Uganda. As coordinator of the International Association of Constitutional Law research group on freedom of expression and board member of the IPSA Research Committee on political finance and corruption, he maintains active international scholarly engagement.
Professor Toplak has led impact litigation projects before highest national courts and the European Court of Human Rights, including a challenge to referendum results that led to the first-ever public hearing by the Supreme Court of Slovenia and the annulment of referendum results. His legal expertise has been featured in major international media including The Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, The Guardian, and The Boston Globe.
